Wisconsin records sixth H1N1 death

A Portage County resident has become the sixth person to die from H1N1 or "Swine Flu" virus.

Health officer Faye Tetzloff says the victim was an adult who had an underlying health condition. She says the person was hospitalized in Marshfield at the time of death.

Officials are not releasing the victim's age, gender, hometown, or what underlying condition they were suffering from. Tetzloff says it's due to confidentiality laws and a request from the family.

Tetzloff says what's important isn't that the victim had an underlying condition, but that other people with such conditions should follow the doctor's orders. Tetzloff says the death is unfortunate but not unexpected, based on the thousands of people who die each year due to complications with the regular flu.

Wisconsin has more than 6,000 confirmed cases of swine flu, the most in the nation. Health officials say that's largely due to to the state being able to conduct it's own testing for the virus, rather than waiting for the CDC to confirm results.